🌶 From Free Lunches To Full Restaurants

‍How Bundobust put 'Bums on Seats' in January...

Starting off HOT.

We’ve been cooking up something with Bundobust, transforming their Paid Social + CRM into a bookings machine.

‍

The objective? Avoid a January discount, and fill restaurants with first-time diners.

The logic? "If they try it, they'll come back"...

• The offer? 2,500 free lunches. Chaat for the masses.
• The message? Sign-up for your chance to enjoy "lunch on us".
• The mechanic? Data collected via targeted lead-gen campaigns on Meta, tapping into Audience+ data to find first-time visitors and exclude regulars. Signups were fed into a 'holding group' on AirShip, "you're on the list, we'll be in touch", then taken on a seamless welcome journey to educate on the brand.
• The delivery? Every Friday in January at 10am, we released the slots for the following week. First-come, first-served. It was like Glastonbury on-sale, with slots selling out within 1 hour each time.

The impact?

• 260k+ impressions of Lunch Express via paid social.
• 16k+ visits to the always-on Lunch Express menu.
• 7k+ new database sign-ups.
• 2,500 new diners tried Lunch Express in January.
• 900+ new 5* ratings on Google.
• 3 Karen's complaining they missed out.... and kept happy.

‍

Anyone can give something away for free, it's return-visit which demonstrates the real ROI. Data is now segmented based on who got a "free lunch" (and what they ate), and who missed out. Automated journeys in-flow for each, to drive a return visit in Spring. Initial results are looking strong, with 17% of "free lunchers" having returned (and paid a bill!) in February.

Sometimes, all you need is a bit of spice and strategy.

‍

---

🎄 It’s February... Let’s Talk Christmas!

Christmas 2024 on paid media. Here's what we learnt...

October is the month that matters. While most people are still sipping pumpkin spice, the majority of the market are locking in their festive plans—and our data proves it.

• Looking at our 2024 Christmas campaigns, October sees the highest volume for festive bookings via paid media. Customers are already leaning into the season August onward.
• Peak demand plateaued in November, with most campaigns picking up smaller, last minute bookings.
• We can see, first hand, customers want to secure their festive plans before the best spots are gone. Wait until Q4 to go live with your Christmas campaigns? You’re already behind your competitors.

Start early. Analyse your data and firm up your strategy for 2025 in Q1 whilst Christmas is a not-so-distant memory. Get to to market early Q3 to fill your calendar before it’s too late. We'll be having initial Christmas campaigns (especially for large corporates) live in July this year.

‍

---

‍

👾 The Past is Present. 

Have you heard of retro revival?

Bold colours, glitch effects, pixel art—it’s like the 80s and 90s called, and they’re cooler than ever. Just look at NQ64, who've nailed the retro vibe with their neon-soaked arcade bars and pixel-perfect branding.

• Retro isn’t just a style; it’s a vibe. It’s raw, playful, and unpolished in all the right ways. Think bold neon signage, glitchy textures, and nostalgia that hits customers right in the feels.
• Why it works: Customers are over perfect. Retro delivers something authentic, personal, and real—yet sleek enough to fit in the modern world.

If you're brand fits, embrace retro visuals, but bring them to life with modern web capabilities. Animated glitches, bold colour palettes, and interactive experiences can make your site feel as alive and intense as Pac-Man.

‍

---

‍

🤖 In the battle of the bots, where's your allegiance?

Let's Get Real. Is ChatGPT a threat to Google?

ChatGPT’s real-time search is changing the game, offering fast, direct answers without the endless link-clicking. Need a hotel with a rooftop bar and yoga classes? Done in seconds. But Google isn’t sitting still. It's Gemini AI is delivering quick summaries in the Answer Box, powered by Google Ads. For now, Google’s e-commerce edge is hard to beat.

So, where do we stand—old reliable or the shiny new bestie?

Honestly, it’s not about threats—it’s about change. Gen Z are already using TikTok for searches (40%, according to Google itself). AI search tools like ChatGPT are just the next evolution.

What does this mean for Hospitality?

Decision fatigue is real. AI search tools are a dream for travellers who want tailored, curated options without the hours of scrolling.

• Faster searches. Better personalisation.
• But e-commerce integration? That’s still Google’s playground.

‍

---

‍

💬 Stop Accepting That Opt-Out Is A Strategy.

Start caring about your signups..

Last week we saw a LinkedIn post from a Marketing Director in the sector preaching that pro opt-out is a core part of their CRM strategy. That's bonkers and we'll talk about why...

The post, while well intended, frankly struck us as misguided. Being pro opt-out is actually an indication of a massive failure of your CRM strategy. Yes, your key KPIs will see benefit, but it means you haven’t taken the time to really understand the customer—their desire to learn and educate themselves, their “buying cycle,” and what they're really signing up for.

 If you are building high quality, impactful content; if you are trying to build customer engagement and trust; if you are building a long term relationship where the customer seeks actively to be involved and learn; the opt-out option is an indicator that you've failed.

 Leveraging opt-out as a part of your CRM strategy is really a statement about your arrogance and lack of caring..

 “We don’t care enough about you to do our homework and learn what interests you when. We’ll just keep pummeling you with stuff, letting you decide and take action.”

 It's devastating in other ways. It means you’ve lost that individual. They no longer want to hear from you, they no longer want to be engaged. Recovering from that loss may be impossible, in the least, it will take time and huge amounts of resource to regain permission, rebuild the engagement, rebuild the trust.

 Regardless of how carefully you build your content and carve up your database, there are those who will opt-out. But please, please don't "just accept it". Prioritise the why, why did they signup in the first place? How can you communicate with this person (because, each signup is a person), on a level which resonates, engages and converts.

‍

---

‍

📊 AI Kneads Data as much as your coffee needs pastry.

‍This is your reminder to embrace AI..

Forget spreadsheets and guesswork— Gail’s Bakery is using AI to fuel their rapid expansion. Their self-built algorithm crunches footfall data, transport links, and local spending habits to find prime locations for new stores.

The Big Picture?
AI doesn’t just spit out random postcodes—it learns. Every new Gail’s site feeds the model, making future picks even sharper. It's not replacing human intuition, but it’s 50% of the answer (according to co-founder Tom Molnar).

What’s the endgame?
Gail’s is scaling up fast, with 30-40 new bakeries planned this year, including big moves in London and Bristol. This isn’t just about bread—it’s about businesses using AI to outsmart the competition.

So, what’s next for the industry?
AI-powered location scouting could change the game for hospitality. Smart tech, faster decisions, and data-driven moves—because the future waits for no one. We'll soon see similar tech utilised across the marketing landscape, don't see it as a threat, see AI as your PA to speed up processes and make smarter decisions.